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France: Normandy

Overview

Normandy (Normandie) has long been popular with foreign buyers, particularly the British on account of its proximity and similar climate and countryside, as well as its historical and cultural kinship. Like Britain, Normandy was invaded by the Vikings – 200 years before the Normans themselves invaded Britain – and it was part of England in the early Middle Ages (the Queen is still ‘Duke of Normandy’!). There are also more recent cultural ties between the two regions and the UK, with twinnings (e.g. Honfleur with Sandwich in Kent, and the department of Calvados with Devon) and frequent cross-Channel exchanges.

Despite a widespread movement to reunite Normandy, it’s currently divided into two official regions: Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy (see below). This relatively recent (1972) administrative division, however, has neither a historical nor a geographical basis. Historically, Upper and Lower Normandy were separated by the Seine, which now runs roughly along the dividing line between the departments of Eure and Seine-Maritime in Upper Normandy.

Geographically, Normandy can be said to be divided into three areas: the eastern ‘plains’ (roughly corresponding to Upper Normandy), interrupted by the Seine valley; the western bocage, a landscape of fields and hedges resulting from 19th century methods of dairy farming; and a central area divided vertically between plains to the west of the river Orne and bocage to the east. (Confusingly, the word bocage is used to describe both the area south-west of Caen and any similar landscape in Normandy or France as a whole.) Within the central area, south of Caen, is ‘Swiss Normandy’ (La Suisse Normande), so called because of its similarity to the Swiss landscape, with deep gorges and rocky peaks, although the highest point, Mont Pinçon, is only 365m (120ft) above sea level.

Normandy was originally divided into ‘lands’ (pays), many of which are still referred to and even marked on maps (although they often straddle departments and even the division between Upper and Lower Normandy), e.g. the Pays d’Argentan, Pays du Houlme and Pays du Perche in Orne, the Pays d’Auge (around Caen), the Pays de Bray (near the border with Picardy), the Pays de Caux (a largely rural and agricultural area between Rouen and Dieppe), the Pays d’Ouche (between Bernay and Verneuil-sur-Avre) and the Pays du Vexin normand in north-east Eure.

Normandy is noted for its lovely countryside and wide variety of scenery, including lush meadows, orchards, rivers and brooks, quiet country lanes, and over 600km (370mi) of coastline (100km/60mi of which were the scene of the D-Day landings in June 1944).

Normandy is a rich agricultural region, producing meat, milk, butter, cheese (most famously Camembert, but also numerous other cheeses, including Livarot, Neufchâtel and Pont l’Evêque), apples, cider and calvados – a spirit distilled from apple juice (Upper Normandy is sometimes referred to as ‘calvaland’). It’s also renowned for its cuisine, with local specialities including shellfish dishes (Calvados is a major shellfish producer) and apple tart.

Normandy is an important maritime centre, with no fewer than 50 ports along its coast, including Cherbourg-Octeville, Dieppe, Fécamp, Granville, Le Havre, Honfleur, Port-en-Bessin and Tréport, as well as the major inland ports of Rouen and Caen.

Normandy has four regional parcs naturels – Boucles de la Seine Normande (between Rouen and Le Havre), Marais du Cotentin et du Bessin (north of Saint-Lô on the Cotentin peninsula), Perche (east of Alençon, in Orne, stretching into Eure-et-Loir), Normandie-Maine (west of Alençon) – and three areas of marshland: around the mouth of the Vire in Manche (where the Parc régional du Cotentin et du Bessin is Europe’s largest ‘wetland’), around the mouth of the Orne in Calvados and around the mouth of the Seine in Seine-Maritime.

Normandy has long been popular with the British for holidays and second homes, particularly in and around the Channel ports and resorts. Two-thirds of foreign buyers are British. With the exception of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy, it’s the most accessible region from the UK via the ports of Caen, Cherbourg-Octeville, Dieppe and Le Havre. Coastal property is relatively expensive (homes with a sea view command a steep premium) and prices increase the closer you get to Paris (Parisians weekend on the Normandy coast). Honfleur has a surfeit of British residents and Deauville is packed with chic Parisians, and both are very expensive. On the other hand, there are still bargains to be found (particularly for British buyers) and relatively undiscovered parts, especially in the department of Orne.

Lower Normandy

Lower Normandy (Basse-Normandie) is the western ‘half’ of Normandy (population 1.42 million) and contains the departments of Calvados (14), Manche (50) and Orne (61), covering a total area of 17,600km2 (7,000mi2). Demographically, Lower Normandy is more rural and ‘traditional’ than Upper Normandy. The largest city by far is Caen (117,000), the administrative capital, other major towns including Alençon, Lisieux, Mortagne-sur-Perche and Verneuil-sur-Avre. Some 50 per cent of Lower Normandy is grassland (the highest percentage in France); the north-west of Calvados is known as the Bessin – land of grass, milk and marshes. A further 30 per cent is arable land.

Upper Normandy

Upper Normandy (Haute-Normandie) comprises the departments of Eure (27) and Seine-Maritime (61). It covers an area of around 12,500km2 (5,000mi2) and has a population of around 1.78 million. Upper Normandy is more urbanised and Paris-influenced than Lower Normandy (the department of Eure in particular is said to be in the shadow of the capital). Its largest cities are Rouen (population around 400,000), the administrative capital of Upper Normandy and Le Havre (193,000), other major towns including Dieppe, Evreux, Les Andelys, Louviers, Pont-Audemer and Yvetot. Some 30 per cent of Upper Normandy is grassland; a further 45 per cent is arable land.

© Survival Books Limited 2005

“Buying a Home in France 2006” 6th Edition, David Hampshire.

Reproduced with the permission of Survival Books Limited.

Further information on this topic can be found in “Buying a Home in France 2006” 6th edition, by David Hampshire.

For extensive, annually updated information about buying a property in France, you can purchase this book at www.survivalbooks.net

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